At the age of just 22, Christian von Koenigsegg founded his own supercar company in 1994. With no experience whatsoever in car development and assembly, and driven by his passion and desire alone, Christian set out to create the world’s best supercar. The story of how Koenigsegg Automotive AB was able to create its first supercar is fascinating. A small carmaker from Sweden burst onto the scene in a truly heroic fashion.
Koenigsegg built its first production supercar in 2002 - the CC8S. An engine based on Ford's V8 Modular architecture, and built completely in-house, made the CC8S extra special. After 8 years of development, Koenigsegg managed to sell 6 units of the CC8S, making it the rarest Koenigsegg supercar. The CC8S was a major success and paved the way for other Koenigsegg cars. Today, 20 years has passed since the introduction of the CC8S, and Koenigsegg is celebrating the occasion with their latest masterpiece, the CC850, which pays homage to their first manufactured car.
Koenigsegg is now one of the most exclusive supercar manufacturers on the planet. After building the world’s most powerful production cars, and then the world’s fastest supercars, Koenigsegg has come a long way. In fact, apart from being a car manufacturer, Koenigsegg is also considered to be a technology company, thanks to its leading innovations and multiple patents for car components. The Swedish brand has been pushing the boundaries of the automotive world, and Koenigsegg looks ready to lead the industry into the future.
We managed to have a chat with Christian von Koenigsegg about the success of his self-made supercar company, and talk about the future of the brand, as well as his stance on the future of alternative fuels and electric vehicles.
The Incredible Success Of Koenigsegg
Christian and Koenigsegg Automotive AB have introduced and patented a wide range of new technologies. These technologies have truly revolutionized the auto industry. But it could not have come without hard work and dedication, as well as Christian’s undying passion to create the world’s best supercar.
“When I started the company at the age of 22, I knew from the get go that in order to survive I had to create one of the most exiting sports cars in the world. It was a big task, especially considering that I didn’t have any experience in building cars previously. We managed to complete the CC8S in the beginning of the 2000s and already then, our record history started as the fully homologized CC8S became the most powerful production car ever with 655 hp. The CCR followed in 2004 and in 2005 we broke the top speed record for a homologized car, beating the mighty McLaren F1. Since then, our success has been a testament to the hard work put in by all the employees, and I think today we set a benchmark in the industry as a leader for both technology development and performance. This makes me very proud, and I look forward to continuing this tradition for many years to come. When starting the company in the mid-90s it was hard to imagine the impact the Koenigsegg name would have 28 years later, it’s amazing to see all the fans and their dedication to the brand, that huge following is something I didn’t expect earlier on.”
With great ambition, there are always great obstacles though, and Christian von Koenigsegg was about to take on the world’s best car manufacturers. He needed to overcome the mountain of problems that anyone would face by creating a brand-new car company.
“Building the company from nothing and without bigger financial backing that could cover development costs was extremely challenging. When the first sale of a car completed, and the money had come in for that, we could start building the next one which then sold, and it gave us money for yet another car and that cycle continued. In the mid-90s the market wasn’t asking for what I started developing and that itself was a big challenge, in parallel to that the industry as a whole was on its knees and big brands like Porsche were close to bankruptcy. My mindset has always been that it’s not over until I give up and if I never allow myself to give up that means it’s never over. This has taken me through a lot of challenges and given me a sort of confidence. At the beginning of the 2000s, my wife Halldora von Koenigsegg joined the company on the sales & marketing side and later as the COO of Koenigsegg, without her, it would not have been possible.”
The Inspiration That Guided Koenigsegg
Christian had always been a huge gear head, and it was at a very young age that he drove his first go-kart. From then on, he was hooked. But before he created Koenigsegg, his inspiration came from the other great supercars of the time.
“I have always had a fascination for all cars and growing up I would read Swedish car magazine from beginning to end but some that stood out are Lotus Esprit, Lamborghini Countach & maybe most importantly the Il Tempo Gigante from the movie Pinchcliffe Grand Prix. The CC8S also took inspiration from the McLaren F1 & Ferrari F40.”
The 90s was a great decade for supercar makers and enthusiasts alike. With plenty of inspiration to motivate himself, Christian set down his path to create his own supercar company. When looking back, he has managed to create some of the world’s best supercars such as the Jesko and the Gemera, but the original CC8S will always be special for him.
“Being able to complete the CC8S under the circumstances is definitely up there. That car laid the foundation for all coming Koenigseggs, and it features a lot of innovations that are still today staples of the Koenigsegg design, such as the wrap-around windshield, removable and stowable hard top roof, dihedral door system, the short overhang in the front and rear and the clean Nordic design and a carbon chassis and suspension layout that was way before ahead of its time. When we later developed the CCX, we did our first fully in-house developed and built V8 engine, which again laid the foundation for all the coming Koengisegg V8s.”
The Koenigsegg CC850: A One-Of-A-Kind Exotic
Koenigsegg’s latest, the CC850, is no doubt one of the most exciting cars we have seen this year. In fact, the Koenigsegg CC850 is now the world's most powerful, and fastest, production manual car in the world.
We were also present for the reveal at Monterey Car Week, and in the flesh, the CC850 looks even more incredible. One of the main talking points has been the transmission, which is quite remarkable and yet another technological marvel from the Swedish supercar maker.
“The transmission that is in the CC850 is based on the LST 9-speed gearbox that we developed for the Jesko program. The LST (Light Speed Transmission) and the ESS (Engage Shifter System) are both completely developed in-house by Koenigsegg, by myself with the support of engineers Dag Bölenius, Ruben Lend & Emil Langeland Larsen.”
The new Koenigsegg CC850, which pays homage to the company’s first production car, has met with great success, and all 50 planned production units are already claimed for by customers. This 5.0-Liter V8 supercar pumps out up to 1,366 hp. Demand for this hypercar is still high, and that is why Koenigsegg has now decided to build 20 more units.
“The additional 20 cars will be built in order to meet the massive demand the CC850 has gotten. Still not nearly meeting market demand, but given the low planned numbers, that was as far as we could go, plus it made sense to also celebrate the 20 years of Koenigsegg production with the additional 20 cars."
Koenigsegg In An Electric World
When asked about the future of Koenigsegg and where it stands on electric supercars, Christian has quite a lot to say. While Koenigsegg is already developing electric motors and high-tech batteries, they are focusing on in-house designed components that will once again set the tone for the industry, but what’s interesting is that Koenigsegg doesn’t put high importance on electric vehicles alone. The company is also developing more efficient engines that can also run on alternative fuels.
“There’s a lot of development Koenigsegg is undertaking to prepare for the shift to electric. We’re developing class leading HV-batteries, e-motors & inverters. In parallel, our development of combustion engines with the possibility to run on biofuel and alternative fuels gives us an alternative to all-electric options. Looking at many of the fully electric vehicles today, they come at a big weight penalty with big batteries. We see electrification a bit differently at Koenigsegg. The battery cells we develop are very extreme and can extract a lot of power, and we combine this with extreme combustion engine technology that runs on renewable fuel. With our Freevalve technology, we can also make sure that we combust very efficiently and extract the most possible out of small engines. These combinations make the car lighter, more agile and exciting while still remaining environmentally conscious.”
On a final note, when asked about the challenges faced to move into the future, Christian tells us that, “A lot of development is already underway. We’re currently in the process of doubling our factory footprints with the construction of e-motor dynos, HV battery labs and a lot of other equipment that will facilitate the fully in-house developed technology.”
It’s safe to say that Koenigsegg will continue to set trends in the automotive world and will continue to innovate. With sheer passion alone, Christian von Koenigsegg has become a force to reckon with in the industry, and we will surely see a lot more coming from this incredible Swedish carmaker in the years to come.